The Tale Spinner
Newsletter of the Tri-Area Flyers

 http://triarearc.org

(AMA Charter Number 4063, Radio Controlled Model Aircraft Club)

October 1, 2002, Volume 3 Issue 10 

 

Club Officers:

Position

 Name Phone Number Term Expires
President Arvin Wylie 360.379.0701 December 31, 2002
Vice President Pete Granger 360.379.3185 December 31, 2002
Secretary/Treasurer Bill Anliker 360.385.0558 December 31, 2002
Safety Officer John Fitch 360.379.9242 December 31, 2002
Web/Newsletter Editor Russ Petersen 541.997.3202 December 31, 2002
Director, Position 1 Grant Smith 360.437.2162 December 31, 2004
Director, Position 2 Dick Benjamin 360.379.9851 December 31, 2003
Director, Position 3 Bruce Pyles 360.437.8109 December 31, 2002

Meeting Minutes:          (Next Meeting: October 8, 2002, Excapees RV Park)

Minutes of the 9/10/02 Meeting of the Tri Area R.C. Flyers

The meeting started at 7:00 PM at the SKP Clubhouse.  Attending were Granger, Wylie, Benjamin, Oaks, Pyles, Ryder, Fitch, Greene, Dantzler, Allen, G. Smith, and prospective member Phil Waaga.

The minutes were approved as read.  There was no treasurer’s report as he may have absconded with the funds.

It was established that our membership was at 45 with 2 on the wait list.  Pete Granger moved that the by-laws be amended to exclude junior members from the cap count.  The motion was seconded and approved.  Wylie moved that Phil Waaga be brought in as our 45th member.  The motion was seconded and approved.

There was a discussion of the fun fly rules and how the events were to be operated.  The club will be supplying a case of soft drinks and several members volunteered to bring more.

The new configuration of the pits was described including 10 plane holding tables and 6 of the old spools.  The engine break-in area has been relocated to the North end of the storage container where it will be less of a distraction.  President Wylie was given the club’s heartfelt thanks and a round of applause for his construction, almost without help, of the 10 new tables.

The crash trophy was awarded after considerable debate and many lurid descriptions of events that ranged from hard landings to major disasters.  Bill Anliker and Keith Allred destroyed nearly identical Ugly Stick Arts within a few days of each other and will share the trophy for the next month.

Chuck Dantzler was awarded the Great White Hunter trophy for permanently eliminating a mole that somehow eluded Bill Anliker’s highly successful campaign.

The program was to have been a Monokote covering video, but we would have had to inconvenience a number of SKP members, so we will do it another time.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Pete Granger

Scribe pro tem

 

 

Fun Fly Report by Pete Granger

We set a new club record for number of pilots flying at the field and had a great time doing it.  Eleven intrepid fliers (Montell, Wylie, Fitch, Pyles, Calkins, Greene, Crow, Benjamin, Granger, Oaks, and Takata) took on a bunch of goofy tasks dreamed up by the addle-brained CD.

 Loop, land, and draw—The objective was to see who could takeoff, do a loop, and land in the shortest time.  Ken Crow did it in 23 seconds for low time, but had the misfortune to draw a 10 for a final score of 230.  Montell, Granger, and Greene tied at 26 seconds, but Roy drew an ace and won the event.  Dick Benjamin also drew an ace for a second place score of 28, and Harry Takata nailed down third place when he also drew an ace!

 Pylon race—In this event we raced against the clock to taxi 2 laps around the pylons.  Oaks, Pyles, Greene, and Crow placed in that order with scores of 32, 33, 34, and 35 seconds respectively.  Randy Calkins had the most original approach.  He strapped a full can of Pepsi to his landing gear to hold the plane on the ground and lower the center of gravity.  He scored 37 seconds and actually lifted off briefly just after crossing the finish line.

 Balloon bust—Each pilot got 3 chances to bust a helium filled balloon on 30 feet of thread.  Unfortunately there was a bit of a breeze so the balloon lay over pretty close to the ground.  Everybody zeroed this event, but Randy Calkins got close enough that his prop blast disturbed the balloon.

 Spot landing—In this event a plastic ribbon was stretched across the runway and the airplane that stopped closest wins.  Dick Benjamin was up first and actually snagged the ribbon on landing and dragged it 9 feet 5 inches for a third place.  Jim “I’ll never risk an airplane on these events” Montell captured first place (11 inches) by diving at the ribbon.  Roy Greene got second place at 7 feet 1 inch with a more conventional landing.

 Gallon of fuel drawing—Marg Granger drew the winning ticket out of the bucket and managed to get her husband’s number.  Pete showed absolutely no embarrassment as he grabbed the can of fuel and ran.

 The hot pilot of the day was Roy Greene who had a first, a second, and a third!  The only event he did not place in was the balloon bust and neither did anyone else.  Dick Benjamin was our only other multiple winner with a second and a third.  Ken Crow won the crash trophy when he destroyed his Pizzazz, the only casualty of the day.

 This is the first time the club has attempted any sort of flying event and we all had a blast.  The cookout and potluck that followed really hit the spot—all that intense flying sure helped the appetites.  As usual, the ladies outdid themselves with baked beans, a variety of salads, and other goodies to go with a variety of hot dogs and even some burgers.

We need to do this again.

(Editor:  Pictures provided by Jim Montell)

Introducing Club Members:

Eugene (Gene) Allen

While "Gene" has been a club member for some months, he has only recently finished his first trainer and has started taking pre-solo instruction from Pete Granger.  Gene resides at 13324 NW Ridgelane Drive, Silverdale, WA 98383.  He may be reached at 360-598-2751 or at eallen@tscnet.com.  Gene and his wife Mary Anne have three sons, Cole, Jeffrey and Hugh.  Gene holds a BS in Civil Engineering and is retired from the Ocean Engineering Department at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.  Gene is a Naval Architect and practiced in the field for 34 years before retirement.  He enjoys building model boats and planes and also enjoys "N" gauge model trains.  Gene has several model boats and has built many over the years.  He is acquired a Sig LT40 ARF powered by an OS .46 LA and flies on channel 51. 

Some of you know that the front of my garage in Silverdale was a storage area for giant planes and when the garage door was open the planes would occasionally draw some interest.  I met Gene when he stopped to talk about the planes, where and what to fly and the like.  So, he just lives down the street from our old address and made contact with the Tri Area Flyers through a suggestion that I made.  Please join me in welcoming Gene Allen to the club.